Second Chance
by StarlitWave10
Summary: One-shot. A girl is running from an enraged man. Will anyone help her?


**This is my first story, so please go easy on the criticism.**

**Disclaimer: CSI belongs to Anthony Zuiker**

"Help me, please! I need help!" The girl screamed as she ran down Las Vegas Boulevard. Her pursuer's steps echoed behind her. Occasionally she would look back to see if he was still following her; every time she looked, he was still there.

"Oh, please, God! Help me!" She looked back one more time, but ended up bumping into a wall and falling. Choking on sobs, the girl frantically crawled as far away as she could from the figure, who was slowly getting closer.

"Come, now girl. There's no need to scream." The girl merely sobbed louder. "Don't make me shut you up, you little"-

"Hey!" A new voice made the man stop in his tracks, barely two feet from the girl. His hand was raised as if he was about to slap her, and he quickly used it to cover his eyes as a flashlight shone in his face.

"'Scuse me, sir, but are bothering this young woman?" The voice asked. The young woman in questions huddled against the wall that had been her downfall and continued crying.

"Uh, no sir. I was merely trying to, uh, help this poor creature." With that statement, the man replied, his hand still covering his eyes. The stranger still did not lower his flashlight.

"Are you sure? Because from my perspective, she seemed to be running away from you."

"Well, _sir, _the darkness could have made you see things that didn't actually happen." The man said, with sarcasm dripping from his voice when he called the stranger, "sir."

The girl chose this moment to cry out, "No, don't believe him! He's trying to hurt me, he's"- but she wasn't able to finish, as the man took a gun out of his pocket and pointed it at her. The stranger took out his own weapon and pointed it at the other man.

"Sir, I'm gonna need you to put the gun down." The man didn't move. In fact, he seemed to have forgotten about the other guy. His eyes were focused on the girl.

"If only you'd stayed quiet. Why did you even run in the first place? You could've been mine"-

"Sir!" The other man said, a bit more forcefully. He had gotten a bit closer, and in the light of his flashlight he could see tears on the girl's face, her smeared make-up, and her shortage of clothing. Upon her primary appearance, the stranger pegged her for a stripper. "Sir, please put the gun down. I am not a police officer, I am a CSI, but I can make sure you go to jail for this unless you cooperate. Then maybe we could cut a deal."

The man kept his eyes on the girl, but when he spoke it was to the one calling himself a 'CSI'.

"A deal? Do you really think I could be that stupid? I give up, I'm going to jail, that I know. There's no way out…" With that, the man turned the gun on his own throat and fired. The officer instantly ran to him, kicked the gun away, and began applying pressure to the wound with one hand. With his free hand he reached for his radio and said into it, "This is Charlie 005 Sanders. Man down on 1109 Las Vegas Boulevard. I need an ambulance here and police officers, stat!" He put the radio down in order to apply pressure with both hands, but was still able to hear the crackle of static and the response.

"Affirmative, Charlie 005 Sanders. Well have an ambulance at your location within five minutes." The crackling ceased. The girl remained where she was, merely staring at the man who had threatened to kill her. Tears still streamed silently down her face. She didn't dare speak. After a few moments the man's painful breathing stopped altogether. Nonetheless, the CSI kept trying, but seeing as the wound was in his neck, he stopped soon after. The sirens of the ambulance were heard, but it was too late. The girl now ventured a few words.

"Are you okay?" She asked her savior. His eyes were trained on his own bloodstained hands.

"I couldn't save him." He kept mumbling. The girl took up all her courage and walked over to him, making sure to avoid looking at the dead body as much as possible.

"You saved my life. Thank you." The officer looked up, and for the first time she saw how young he was. Not much older than herself. His brown eyes glinted in the light from his flashlight which he had dropped in his haste to try and save the now-dead corpse.

"You're welcome." He said, with perhaps the tiniest hint of a smile. The girl smiled back, and opened her mouth to say something when the ambulance pulled up next to them. Paramedics rushed over to the dead body, but soon realized there was nothing they could do, so left the scene for the other officers. The other two were pushed aside.

"My name's Greg, Greg Sanders." The officer told her. "You know, if you ever need help getting out of your current line of work, just give me a call.," and he scribbled down his number on her hand.

"Thank you," The girl said. "I'll try to." Greg smiled.

"By the way," the girl said, "my name's Lily. Lily Baston."

"It's nice to meet you Lily. I would shake your hand, but mine's covered in blood. And, you know, one of my friends used to be a stripper before she became a cop. If you're not sure how to get out, she can help."

Lily blushed, as that had been exactly what she had been thinking.

"Thank you so much. I would love to leave this…line of work." She said truthfully.

Greg lifted her chin with part of his hand that was not covered in blood so that she would look at him, and told her, "Anything's possible.


End file.
